Toronto Hockey

[ZombieAttack27 1]

Hey ModSquadHockey... I'm 16 years old, and moving to the Toronto area this summer. Some of the kids on my highschool team that moved here (NJ) from that area said that hs hockey is less intense in Canada because all the good players play juniors, and juniors in Canada is more intense than juniors here.

Right now, my hockey season consists of short season 16u travel (club) hockey until hs season starts, and then hs until spring. Based on where I live right now, that's a pretty traditional hockey season for a 16 year old kid.

So what I'm asking is if short season/high school is an option in Ontario, and if it is, is it worth playing as opposed to a junior team. Any information you guys can give me would be MUCH appreciated. Thanks in advance.

[Law Goalie 147]

Your friends are right: high-school hockey is somewhat less intense in Canada, especially after 16.

The good news is that there are innumerable options for hockey in Toronto, from several tiers of junior, high-end youth (AAA, AA, A, etc.), and high-school. I would suggest starting the process of researching junior teams right now. Find out which ones are near where you live, which ones are going to have high turnover (ie. lots of older players), which ones have free tryouts and which charge fees, etc. You will also need to do a little footwork to make yourself eligible as a Canadian resident. I don't know the particular sof this, but the junior teams' managers certainly will, and it may be available on their websites.

You don't need an agent or anything: at most a recommendation from your current coach, and maybe a short video of you in different game situations. If you're lucky, you'll get a few teams interested in you before you even move here.